Kic sent me an angry Blackberry message the other day. "Where's the Raptors love? We're going to be awesome with Marco Belinelli in the lineup next year!"

Truth be told, I wasn't sure what a Marco Belinelli was. It turns out the Toronto Raptors acquired shooting guard Marco Belinelli from the Golden State Warriors for cash considerations and forward Devean George. Belinelli, 23, averaged 8.9 points, 2.1 assists, 1.7 rebounds and 21 minutes in 42 games last season, his second in the NBA.

I dig the Raps, I really do, but this is Kic's department. Here's his thoughts.

Ok BC is a smart GM, he signed Jarrett Jack (who's Bosh's friend from college). BC went and got Belinelli who is great friends with Bargs. Since Bargs just signed an extention BC wants to keep his core players. Yes, they may have overpaid for Jarrett Jack but if that keeps Bosh happy, then he has a better chance to resign him in the summer. Belinelli is still young and cheaper than Delfino. This is a solid team and has a better bench than the Kings starting 5

The Jays have dealt third baseman Scott Rolen to the Cincinnati Reds for third baseman Edwin Encarnacion and minor league infielder Yonder Alonso pitchers Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart.

Rolen is hitting .320 in 373 plate appearances with eight home runs and 43 runs batted in. He was also my second favourite active Jay, next to Roy Halladay.

Speaking of Halladay, he's still a Blue Jay. After talks with the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, Ricciardi did the right thing and kept his ace in fold.

I know there are folks out there who are ticked Halladay is still here, assuming he's as good as gone when he becomes a free agent, but those folks have no soul.

I swear this isn't meant to be a CFNY / Edge 102 blog or Corus blog, it's just a collection of things I'm personally interested in, and this past month that seems to be dominated by a certain local alt rock station.

A few Sundays ago, I wrote about the absence of The Strombo Show on CFNY / Edge 102. I wondered aloud if he had quit Corus. You can click through to read how I strung that thought together.

Don't know if you have heard yet, but a friend at corus said strombo show I cancelled effective immediately. Bullshit about him not being able to find the time to do the show like he wanted to. I know he doesn't have a lot of time but he just built an entire studio in his basement a couple months ago in order to be able to have more time to himself and still be able to put a show together. Rumour has it the ratings were down, but the timing seems a bit fishy if you ask me.

The folks at Clickfree asked me if I'd review a product they're launching on August 10th and I said, "sure". It's a Transformer for my iPod that promises to "backup your computer to unused storage space on your iPod or iPhone".

I got the little transformer device, plugged it into my USB slot and plugged my iPod in it. Instantly, it coughed up the following screen.

It's really dummy-proof. If you have room on your iPod, Clickfree will make great use of it. But, my favourite feature of this device is promoted as a "bonus feature". That's like burying the lead. This thing actually copies music from your iPod to your computer. That's right, if your music is stuck on your iPod, this sucker will set it free and copy it back down to your Windows Vista, Windows XP or Windows 2000 PC.

The Clickfree folks, who are out of Richmond Hill, tell me you can also backup playlists on your iPod and not just the music. I needed this sucker about three months ago.

There are no delusions of grandeur going on here. But at the same time try and name another radio personality that managed to use his name to create a play on words for the title of a joke and a survey. Seriously. That’s pretty awesome.

The inquiring emails have gotten out of control. At last count there were 7. Let’s deal with this before someone gets hurt. There were some statistical rating issues at the Edge. These began a couple of years ago when the station started to air six, two minute commercial breaks an hour instead of three breaks of three to four minutes. The station suffered - except for the morning show as they were the only time slot that didn’t change to the six commercial break format.

This new format created times when there would be two minutes of commercials followed by a song followed by another two minutes of commercials followed by a song, two more minutes of commercials, another song followed by a minute long promo followed by a song.

It should also be made clear that in radio the only times that really matter for generating revenue are Monday to Friday between 6am and 6pm. I worked Mon-Wed evenings starting at 7PM and weekend afternoons, A.K.A. – prime time. And according to Ross Winters I was a problem.

Ross Winters. The latest Program Director at one oh two point one the Edge. The guy who continually calls all the shots. When one thinks of Ross one word comes to mind: Adonis. Cut from the pages of a romance novel, the man turns heads when he walks into a room; the ladies stare with lustful eyes and the men stare with envy. He speaks with a slight accent that moistens the loincloths of every female within ear shot. The only thing sexier than his long, chestnut-brown hair are his muscles. A man among boys.

The first thing Ross ever talked to me about was how much money KROQ in Los Angeles made. This wasn’t a good sign. He casually continued to express his ideas on making the Edge like a Top 40 station but with grunge music. “Zee Edge must appear sexier to all zee people of Toronto” he told me. “Like Paris Hilton.” But he pronounced Paris like Pair-ee so I was confused at first. From that point on I was pretty positive I was ####ed. Sounding like a monotone burnout doesn’t really work with Top 40 Radio.

Changes came quick with Ross. The music played on the station became incredibly restricted and really repetitive. In the past I was allowed to have input at the station’s music meetings. The meetings happened weekly and it’s where we’d decide which songs to add. Enter Dr. Don Mitchell, the Music Director and Assistant Program Director.

Don is a six foot six, 300 pound African-Canadian who lives and breathes Gangster Rap. When Don was hired a few years ago the Canadian Music Industry instantly stopped and thought: Why, in the name of all things holy would one of the biggest new rock stations on the planet, whose musical integrity and credibility are unmatched, hire a music director that is the absolute antithesis of the demographic they’re trying to reach? Don became known in Toronto music circles for his catch phrase, “Nigga, here’s my mother ####in’ philosophy…”

Ross and Doc decided all music at the Edge would be based on what other stations were playing. They also sent out for a ton of research to try and tune them into what the demographic liked.

One of the last music meetings I was at we were trying to decide which Canadian band to add. Ross liked band A because he had met the lead singer and thought she was sexy. Don wanted band B because they were being played in Edmonton and Calgary, I offered band C. Band C had three sold out shows at Toronto’s Massey Hall that month and band C’s iTune sales were exponentially greater than band A and band B put together.

Dr. Don looked at me like I just pissed in his soup. “Nigga, here’s my mother ####in philosophy,” he snapped. “#### three sold out shows at Massy Hall. I could take a shit on stage and sell out Massey Hall. Why don’t you take your Barry Funny Ass out of this mother ####er. “ Ross agreed. I wasn’t allowed at another music meeting.

Another nail in my coffin came with the whole electric car chaos. Holy crap that upset people. The coverage received more attention from outside media than any other thing that happened on the Edge in the 7 years I was there. Awesome. Management is gonna love the publicity. No. No they didn’t. I was immediately told to not talk about the issue on air.

I was also told I talked too much about music. The 420 Thought was replaced with familiar Foo Fighter or Pearl Jam songs. The Blue Jay Breaks I did with my dad were also axed and for the record, while we covered the Jays this season they were 21-12. Since I was fired they’ve tanked to 49-51 ....so…yeah. Pick a side.

As the station continued it’s homogenization it became clear changes were coming for those who didn’t fit in. The music became even more repetitive to the point where I’d be playing the same song twice in a four hour shift. No artists were to be interviewed on the air, aside from the morning show. Announcers were told to talk for 30 seconds or less and our content was heavily scrutinized.

Finally on a Tuesday in May I was called in before my shift and let go for rating reasons. As an email went out the following day the first person to reach out was Martin Streek. He was very supportive and let me know he had my back. A few hours later Ross had him come into the station for the last time.

So that’s it. In the end it’s not a big deal, it’s a business. The Edge’s number one goal is to make money. Some have asked about Megaphoneman. Sadly he was let go too. Was it discriminatory? Let me put it this way, now that he’s gone Corus Entertainment employs no vocal-impaired Megaphonites. The days when a former opera singer who lost his vocal capabilities due to expired cough syrup and subsequently had to speak through a Megaphone was allowed on the Edge are dead. But let us not forget those days and they will live on as the Spirit of Radio.

That which we thought was true, is true. CFNY is now a Top 40 station but with grunge music.

On a Saturday morning in June, before heading off to Edgefest, I pondered a simple question aloud. Should I ban OJ Boy?. As I wrote that morning, I had grown tired of the constant stench of humourless misery and holier-than-thou judgement.

Throughout the day you left comments. Eventually, at about 3:45pm, OJ Boy himself chimed in.

Such a terrible person I am, especially on the Kleenex and Wal-Mart matters... how dare I have responsible educated opinions!!!

I don't think I qualify as a "troll" because I sign my name to write I write... and to Stafford and anyone else that wants a charity boxing match with me, let's hook it up... but I should warn you that my winnings will be going to Greenpeace and habitat for Humanity... and I know that will drive you fascist jerks mad!!!

By the way, Shane whatshisface will be unable to prove that I have visited his site more than a few times in my life, if you can prove I have, go ahead. Do it up, show the proof, Mr. "I could use the hits". You could use a lot more than just blog hits. How about a job?

On a final note, what makes you think I would know whether or not Fred was updating his blog? I have better things to do than worry about either of you let alone write a whole post about you.

Signing off...

I almost renamed this blog "Ass Kissing Soccer Dad-esque Edge-inhaling Paint-by-numbers Lifestyle Fodder" after that one. At some point, that quote will make it into the header. I love that damn comment.

I never did ban OJ Boy. He essentially banned himself, and for over a month, this blog was OJ Boy-free in the comments. Somehow, I persevered.

A few days ago, however, OJ Boy left a comment on this entry about the Globe article on CFNY. He modified his signature a little, and entered a different Hotmail address than usual, but one glance and I knew it was him. It was drenched in that foul stench.

Toronto Mike said, "determining CFNY's playlist is simply too important to be left to the masses."

Feel free to stop contradicting yourself over and over at any time.

I called OJ Boy out, and moments ago he left another comment, this time with his regular old signature and Hotmail address.

Hey Wonderbread,

You're actually full of contradictions, like the one above. When I stopped posting, you said you doubted I'd come back. Now that I dropped one comment, you say you figured I couldn't stay away.

Also, I wasn't hiding. If I'd wanted to hide, I would easily obtain an alternate I.P.

The only reason I did come back was to read other people's comments and memories about Martin Streek, not yours. We all know you'll defend The Edge to the death.

At its core, this agreement means that Yahoo has given up on its search engine business. Microsoft will be able to increase its market share in the search engine and search advertising market. Yahoo will receive revenue from Bing searches generated on Yahoo's sites and become "the exclusive worldwide relationship sales force for both companies' premium search advertisers." What remains to be seen, though, is what will happen to Yahoo's investments in interesting search technologies like BOSS and Search Monkey. Integrating these technologies, which are tied to Yahoo's search engine, could prove rather difficult for Microsoft. We will also have to wait and see what's going to happen to Yahoo's search APIs.

That's right, in a few months, Yahoo's search engine will be "powered by Bing." It's a 10-year deal with the devil, isn't it?

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

k-os - Sunday MorningThis song remains my daughter's go-to tune when she wants to sing aloud. I heard her belting it out the other day so I'm sharing it here for you.

For the record, my son's go-to sing aloud song is still "Goodnight Goodnight" by Hot Hot Heat. The kids dig the CanCon.

Five years ago today, the baby of the family was born. She's certainly no baby today. She's a bright, enthusiastic, well spoken little girl who sometimes acts more like a teenager than a kindergartener.

They really do grow up too quickly. Here's my Michelle at about six months of age.

YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.

If you grew up in Toronto, you saw the ads for Darien Lake on television. Darien Lake is a theme park resort located between Buffalo and Rochester in Darien, New York. They were always trying to get Canadians to cross the border for their rollercoasters and locals to stay put instead of coming here for Canada's Wonderland.

In 1986, in an effort to do the latter, Darien Lake went too far. They ran a campaign against Canada's Wonderland drenched in Americentrism and anti-Canada sentiment. Count the number of stereotypes in this sucker!

Here's their list. Remember, if you visit the NPR link above, you can hear some of these online.

First, the Best Songs of 2009 (so far)

1. "My Girls" Animal Collective

2. "Two Weeks" Grizzly Bear

3. "Blood Bank" Bon Iver

4. "The Rake's Song" The Decemberists

5. "Lisztomania" Phoenix

6. "Zero" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. "This Tornado Loves You" Neko Case

8. "Sleepyhead" Passion Pit

9. "Laughing With" Regina Spektor

10. "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid" The Decemberists

11. "Train Song" Feist and Ben Gibbard

12. "Knotty Pine" David Byrne & Dirty Projectors

13. "Daniel" Bat For Lashes

14. "Summertime Clothes" Animal Collective

15. "One Wing" Wilco

16. "The Fear" Lily Allen

17. "Heads Will Roll" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

18. "Wilco (The Song)" Wilco

19. "Stillness Is The Move" Dirty Projectors

20. "Help, I'm Alive" Metric

21. "Anonanimal" Andrew Bird

22. "On No" Andrew Bird

23. "No You Girls" Franz Ferdinand

24. "I And Love And You" The Avett Brothers

25. "French Navy" Camera Obscura

26. "Magpie To The Morning" Neko Case

27. "Woods" Bon Iver

28. "Black Hearted Love" PJ Harvey and John Parish

29. "While You Wait For The Others" Grizzly Bear

30. "Panic Switch" Silversun Pickups

Best Albums of 2009 (so far)

1. Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective
2. The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
3. Veckatimest by Grizzly Bear
4. Middle Cyclone by Neko Case
5. Wilco (The Album) by Wilco
6. Noble Beast by Andrew Bird
7. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
8. It's Blitz! by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
9. Dark Was The Night by Various Artists
10. Bitte Orca by Dirty Projectors
11. Far by Regina Spektor
12. Actor by St. Vincent
13. Manners by Passion Pit
14. Hold Time by M. Ward
15. Reservoir by Fanfarlo
16. Fever Ray by Fever Ray
17. Fantasies by Metric
18. Two Suns by Bat for Lashes
19. My Maudlin Career by Camera Obscura
20. Dark Night of the Soul by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse
21. The Crying Light by Antony & The Johnsons
22. The Eternal by Sonic Youth
23. The Ecstatic by Mos Def
24. Outer South by Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
25. Swoon by Silversun Pickups
26. Together Through Life by Bob Dylan
27. No Line on the Horizon by U2
28. March of the Zapotec by Beirut
29. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
30. The Mountain by Heartless Bastards

Brian Burke has pulled off a trade with the Calgary Flames. Yes, a member of our defensive glut was involved, and no, it wasn't Tomas Kaberle.

Anton Stralman, Colin Stuart and the Leafs' 7th round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft are off to Calgary for forward Wayne Primeau and the Flames' 2nd round pick in 2011.

At first it seems like we grossly overpaid for Primeau, a 33-year-old center who only scored three goals and 14 points in 67 games over his last two seasons in Calgary, but let's break it down. We're giving up a 7th rounder for a 2nd rounder, a defenseman who can't crack the Leafs lineup and a fringe NHL forward who was only in town for a cup of coffee.

It's not a blockbuster, but it's not as bad as you think. At least we finally have a player named Wayne in the lineup.

Update: Apologies to Wayne Carleton, Wayne Presley and Wayne Thomas, great Waynes in Maple Leafs history.

I'm a Kevin Smith fan. I've pretty much dug everything he's done this side of Jersey Girl. Zack and Miri Make a Porno, however, misses the mark completely.

There are surprisingly few good laughs in this film. There are a few forced chuckles, and it's pretty funny that Elizabeth Banks might actually find Seth Rogen sexually attractive, but this is a pretty unfunny comedy.

It's not funny, and it's not sexy. It's actually pretty damn boring. It started okay, but then morphed into the "I don't care what happens - this is dumb - where the hell are the Kevin Smith laughs - I should watch Clerks again" realm.

There's been a breakthrough with regards to our 36-day-old civic workers strike.

A weekend of intense bargaining has produced "the basis for a deal" that could bring a swift end the strike by municipal workers in Canada's largest city.

At an early morning news conference, CUPE Local 416 president Mark Ferguson announced that although "we still have to put the final pieces together," union negotiators "have the basis for a deal."

Local 416 represents outside workers, including garbage collectors, parks employees and sewer and water main workers.

An important sticking point, however, is the continuing lack of an agreement with the other union, CUPE Local 79, which represents daycare workers, clerks and other inside workers.

It sounds like we're almost through this. I was psyching myself up for another month or two, preparing for this to go all summer. Of course, there's no basis for an agreement with CUPE Local 79 yet, so don't bring your garbage to the curb quite yet.

Over the past week or so, I've been communicating with Bert Archer who's been writing an article for the Globe and Mail on CFNY / Edge 102. Bert and I had a nice phone conversation and exchanged several emails and Gtalk messages. He was interested in where CFNY was going following the dismissal and subsequent death of Martin Streek.

Today, Bert's article about CFNY and Martin Streek was published. You can read it online on the Globe site, or peruse it below. As you'll read, I'm mentioned several times and even quoted.

The Ballad of Martin Streek by Bert Archer, Special to The Globe and Mail

The night 102.1 The Edge fired DJ Martin Streek, he showed up for a birthday party at Andy Poolhall on College Street. Amid a swarm of guests, he bumped into David Marsden, the Toronto radio veteran who'd hired him almost exactly 25 years earlier when he ran the station known as CFNY. According to his former boss, Mr. Streek came over and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "I've just been fired."

Outside the world of sports, personnel decisions rarely make the news. And it's very likely that program director Ross Winters's decision on May 12 and 13 to fire two disgruntled DJs, Mr. Streek and Barry Taylor, wouldn't have either.

Though several Facebook groups sprang up in support of the jockeys - one of them reaching a membership as high as 950 - news of the firings did not go mainstream until July 6. That's when the stunning news of Mr. Streek's death broke in the form of a comment from a friend of Mr. Streek's on torontomike.com. Its proprietor, long-time Edge fan Mike Boon, also added that that Mr. Streek had killed himself.

Soon, the news and comments started popping up on other sites, often in the form of direct attacks on the station whose call letters Mr. Streek had tattooed on his right glute. "The Edge killed Martin," said one torontomike.com commenter.

The Edge is hardly the only radio station in flux, but Mr. Streek's unrelenting enthusiasm for new music made him a symbol of the old, raucous days of radio, a channel of nostalgia unto himself.

"There's something about the 'Spirit of Radio' and what it once was," says Mr. Boon, referring to the old CFNY tagline that inspired a Rush song, "and there's a collective sadness about how radio's devolving in recent years. Martin was a guy who was always there, always solid, extremely likable. When he was let go a couple of months ago, it seemed like a final nail in the coffin."

Yet as Alan Cross sees it, habits have changed as well as taste. A renowned alternative-music historian who preceded Mr. Winters as program director at The Edge, he says, "It was just easier to leave the dial on your favourite station. Now you've got 24 pre-sets."

Mr. Cross, who still works for Edge's owners, Corus Entertainment, was a long-time friend of Mr. Streek's, but rather than casting him as a martyr, he sees the dismissal in practical terms. "A radio station is a business like any other," he says. "People get hired, and sometimes people are let go."

Adapt or die: That's the bitter, and, in Mr. Streek's case, chillingly literal truth. "Our vision is to serve the young adult audience of the GTA," Mr. Winters said in a recent interview, his first since Mr. Streek's death. "We target 18-to-40-year-olds, though mostly the 18-to-34s, and we lean that towards the men."

Though he refuses to comment on the dismissals, he does say that Mr. Cross "had put together a great radio station, but it had its challenges. And when I say challenges, I mean ratings problems."

According to broadcast research company BBM, The Edge is seventh in the Toronto market by number of listeners, with 507,500 people who tune in for at least 15 minutes a week. That's roughly half CHUM-FM's numbers, and 180,000 fewer than its classic-rock brother station, Q107.

Though The Edge might lack listeners, it still enjoys a mythological aura. Originally run out of a little yellow brick house on Main Street in Brampton, the rebellious clarion of alternative music had such a weak signal that fans in Toronto often had to improvise coat-hanger antennas to be able to pick it up. It's the sort of image only a serious lack of money can buy.

But by 1992, star DJs Chris Sheppard, Lee Carter, and Dani Elwell all resigned - Ms. Elwell read out her résumé on air in lieu of notice - because the new program director, Stewart Meyers, was reducing the play lists. But it was still different enough from the rest to attract the current generation of Edge purists, including both Mr. Taylor and Mr. Boon, who only started listening to it after the shift.

Mr. Streek had started out in his last year at high school lugging equipment for the CFNY Road Show - essentially an off-air roving party DJ gig. The '92 shakeup was his big break: he got Mr. Sheppard's old job. From there, he went through a variety of shows, outlasting Mr. Marsden, Steve Anthony, Dan Duran, Live Earl Jive, Kim Hughes, Humble and Fred and Mr. Cross to become the only staff link the station had to its CFNY days.

But as soon as Mr. Winters took over from Mr. Cross last September, Mr. Taylor says both he and Mr. Streek started feeling marginalized.

"Originally, when Alan was program director, Martin and I were participants in the music meetings," he says. "When Ross came in, he just sort of switched the time of the music meetings and made it closed door and didn't let Martin or I know."

The tenor of those meetings had changed, too. According to Mr. Winters, "Our music is not picked by the disc jockeys, it's not picked by me." It's picked by listeners. The station now does three types of audience research every two weeks, and bases its play lists on the results. "If the 18-to-40-year-olds want to hear Foo Fighters and Guns n' Roses, then that's what we'll play."

Mr. Taylor says that he and Mr. Streek made it clear around the office and on the air that they were not happy with the decreasing diversity of the music they were being asked to play. It was a long way from the mid-eighties, when, under Mr. Marsden, listeners were promised $1,002 if they noticed the same song being played more than once in 24 hours. The official limit now is 7 times in 24 hours.

"Martin and I, we both had opinions and would share them on the radio," said Mr. Taylor. "I was told never to talk about anything to do with politics, and that I talked too much about the music." Ditto, he says, for Mr. Streek.

In the last couple of months before they were fired, according to Mr. Taylor, rumours started that the two were on the chopping block. Mr. Streek's own burden got heavier when his long-time romantic relationship dissolved. (Sources would divulge neither her name nor the circumstances of the breakup.)

Then, on May 12, Mr. Taylor got called into a meeting just before his shift. "Ross had an envelope, and he said, 'Ratings at The Edge aren't doing well,' " Mr. Taylor recalls, " 'so we're going to have to make some changes,' and he gave me the envelope, and that was it." The envelope contained his letter of dismissal. According to Mr. Taylor, Mr. Streek was called in for a similar meeting the next day, when he got his own envelope. The last link to the Spirit of Radio days had been severed.

It was that night Mr. Streek showed up to the party on College Street and ran into Mr. Marsden. After a couple of pleasantries, Mr. Streek, who had turned 45 three weeks earlier, leaned in to Mr. Marsden. "You're the only person who ever interviewed me for a job," he said. "I don't know how to interview for a job."

This was not unfamiliar territory for Mr. Marsden, who'd been through several firings, a name change, and now works a 10-hours-a-week jockey gig at Oshawa's 94.9 The Rock. "What we are on the radio is what we is," Mr. Marsden says, remembering the last time he saw his old protégé. "When your job disappears, you ask, 'Who am I,' and too often the answer comes back, 'Nobody.' "

It's a good article that answers some questions we've had these past few weeks. In my quote, I suggested the firing of Martin Streek was the final nail in the spirit of radio's coffin. In actuality, the final nail might be this disturbing fact from the above article.

According to Mr. Winters, "Our music is not picked by the disc jockeys, it's not picked by me." It's picked by listeners. The station now does three types of audience research every two weeks, and bases its play lists on the results. "If the 18-to-40-year-olds want to hear Foo Fighters and Guns n' Roses, then that's what we'll play."

Determining CFNY's playlist is simply too important to be left to the masses.

I'm submitting a song for SLS22 consideration. I'm submitting "Young Cardinals" by Alexisonfire.

I meant to submit this new single from Alexisonfire after Edgefest, but I totally forgot.

I think this is a solid single from this St. Catherines band. It's a nice blend of their hard rock with a little Dallas Green melody to give it a hook. When "Young Cardinals" makes the cut, it will be the third song to make it from Alexisonfire, joining "This Could Be Anywhere In The World" and "Boiled Frogs".

The Associated Press doesn't want you to reproduce their headlines or post an except from one of their articles, even if you link to the source. Unless you pay them first, of course.

I fundamentally disagree with this stance by the AP. Article citation with links to the source article is fundamental to what we bloggers do. It's fundamental to what the world wide web has become. The AP hasn't read their own stories on the horrors of DRM in music, because they're going to add DRM to their news articles.

The Associated Press Board of Directors today directed The Associated Press to create a news registry that will tag and track all AP content online to assure compliance with terms of use. The system will register key identifying information about each piece of content that AP distributes as well as the terms of use of that content, and employ a built-in beacon to notify AP about how the content is used.

This very blog entry would apparently trigger this magic registry and I'll get some sort of virtual wrist slap for not licensing the above paragraph first. The AP thinks it can suddenly go to war against linking on the web. The AP is mad.

Or is there a method to the madness? The war against linking is so ludicrous, I think it's a clever ploy to get more web publishers to link to AP articles. How many bloggers do you think will link to AP articles more than ever now that they're attempting to DRM the sucker?

Mark Leduc was 47. He was the Canadian boxer who earned a silver medal in the 139-lb light welterweight class at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and was one of the few athletes in his sport to come out as a homosexual.

Sometimes I'll delve into the archives of this very site to revisit the entries of July 2004. I started blogging in late 2002, several months after my first child was born, but I was already blogging up a storm when my daughter arrived almost five years ago.

I was recently reading about Adam "MCA" Yauch of the Beastie Boys and his battle with cancer. He's got a cancerous tumour in his parotid gland and a lymph node. I wish him luck, I've always been a big Beastie Boys fan.

Back in the day, their album Licensed to Ill became the first rap LP to top the Billboard 200 chart. There was something else that differentiated the Beastie Boys from others in the rap game. The Beastie Boys are white.

A rap fan for 25 years, white rappers always stood out to me, because it was a genre dominated by black men. 3rd Base, Vanilla Ice, House of Pain and Eminem were white. We noted that fact, because it was noteworthy. Over the past decade, I've found the black vs. white rapper distinction has faded. Rap is now colour blind.

Two hip-hop artists that get heavy play on my iPod happen to be white, but that's not their schtick. It's great rap with catchy hooks and interesting stories and colour doesn't enter the equation. I'm referring to Nova Scotia's Classified and Minnesota's Atmosphere.

I haven't been able to get enough of Classified and Atmosphere since Fay introduced me to Classified several years back and Kic made me listen to Atmosphere. It's not black or white rap, it's solid gold.

Here's Classified and "No Mistakes" from his excellent Boy-Cottin the Industry.

Here's Atmosphere's "Always Coming Back Home to You" from Seven's Travels.

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

Soul Asylum - Somebody To ShoveI really liked Grave Dancers Union from Soul Asylum. After that album, the band disappointed. Let Your Dim Light Shine didn't have much beyond "Misery", the lead single. Today, when I'm craving a little Soul Asylum, I always go back to GDU.

The best song on Grave Dancers Union, in my humble opinion, is "Somebody to Shove".

Courtney doesn't have her own blog, so I'm lending her mine for the next 1000 pixels or so. She has something she wants to share and I think it's important enough that I'm posting her words on her behalf.

Here's what Courtney wrote:

The Right to Strike or The Right to Terrorize?

I am not writing this letter to discuss the merits of one’s right to strike or right to assemble and hold a public labor dispute.

I am writing to discuss the behavior of the CUPE Union Locals 416 and 79, most specifically with respect to Local 79 during their public labor dispute.

My outrage stems from a shocking personal incident that occurred yesterday at the Municipal Offences office located at 2700 Eglinton Ave W.

Having harboured no previous opinion either way regarding this strike, or previous distain for these Unions or their members, I attended the Municipal Enforcement office to address a parking ticket. I knew of the picket lines at the various garbage dumps throughout the City, but had no idea that it had extended to Municipal enforcement offices.

After pulling into the driveway I saw a number of people crowded in front of the building with signs, picketing to raise awareness concerning their labor dispute.

As I approached in my vehicle, I can’t deny that I didn’t feel some level of anxiety. In the past week I have seen and heard deplorable, aggressive and harassing behavior by CUPE Union members at various dump sites.

I have heard reports of people being accosted in their vehicles, one individual who had their vehicle damaged by a CUPE Union members while his wife and two-year-old child were in the car; another individual who was seen on video having their vehicle surrounded by garbage; other reports of CUPE Union members tearing up garbage and throwing it around like cavemen, in addition to various reports of seniors citizens being forced to lug large loads of garbage for hundreds of meters because of the picket lines.

As I pulled my car into the laneway of the municipal office, these upsetting stories immediately came to mind as I saw the picketing group gathered. That said, I had already pulled into the driveway and could not easily navigate the crowd or the line of cars ahead and behind me to turn around and so I decided to have faith in the Union members and attempt to proceed with my own personal business to resolve my parking ticket.

I was first approached by a City Manager who advised me that:

1. There is a labor dispute.

2. That a union representative would approach my vehicle to discuss the issues and I could choose to listen or not listen. That if I didn’t want to listen to calmly advise the Union member and then wait to cross the picket line.

3. I was advised that I would have to wait approximately 15 minutes per/vehicle.

I accepted those terms and continued up the narrow driveway, as again, I wasn’t left with many options considering I had picketers in front of my car, Union supervisors to the left and right of my car and even more vehicles piled up behind me.

An older woman from the union approached my car. I wound down my window and she asked me if I would like to listen. I wasn’t really feeling well (not that I should have to give any explanation for exercising my right to choose) and so I politely advised her that I would not like to listen at that time and wound up my window preparing to wait. She respected my wishes and walked away from my vehicle.

Without provocation and within 5 minutes a second, more aggressive younger woman approached my vehicle and was shouting through my wound up window. She told me that if I did not wind down my window and listen that my car would stay blocked and I wouldn’t be allowed through at all! I found her behavior quite aggressive and when I realized that by this time I was all but trapped in my car between the tight squeeze of other cars and the picket line: I began to panic. I have never in my life, living in this city (through numerous job actions) felt so violated and, dare I say, terrorized.

That an individual having a dispute over the banking of her sick days felt that it was her right to demand that I oblige her by listening to her plight or face being humiliated and detained against my will and accosted in my vehicle is totally sickening. Since when has our society become a dictatorship where individuals who assemble to express their views have any right to detain and dictate orders to (or, rather, totally bully) members of the public?

While I respect any person’s right to freedom of expression, a right which they were exercising, my rights to express my own freedom of choice and expression were violated with flagrant hostility. Quite clearly, there are members of this group who now feel emboldened to not only picket and protest, but torment and browbeat those who exercise their right to not participate in or listen to their plight.

How does this Union expect to win public support by terrorizing and intimidating the public?

What’s worse, is that while this incident was taking place, the police that were present and witnessed this woman’s hostile behavior towards me remained unfazed nearby, continuing to chat with picketers, displaying an insensitive – if not ignorant - dismissive response. Perhaps the fact that they are CUPE Union members themselves introduces a personal agenda that presents a conflict of interest when it comes to exercising appropriate professional judgment to determine under what circumstances they will keep the peace.

Feeling the effects of this injustice after being detained against my will, after having my right to feel safe and secure in the city I was raised in taken away from me, I decided to contact the parties involved, hoping that I would find out that it was simply this one woman who acted in poor taste.

To my complete surprise the following entities responded to me in the following ways:

Entity

Who I Spoke With

What They Told Me

CUPE Local 79

Charlotte Minardo

That because “I was polite” in the incident she would look into it. She refused to provide information to me concerning the specific individual in question to prevent me from legally pursuing my issue. I got a completely condescending and “superior” response like that of a parent to a child from this woman.

Howard Moscoe’s Office – Councilor in my riding

A woman answering the phones

When I tried to report that I had completely denied access to the premises at 2700 Eglinton Ave W, contrary to the information on the City of Toronto Website, she was not knowledgeable and actually told me that she wasn’t even aware of the information concerning the strike that was posted on the Cities website. That I would be best suited to listen to the individual at my window to get past the line. This was after advising her that the Cities website stated that Unions refusal of passage was unlawful.

Mike Colles Office – Provincial Member of Parliament

A woman answering the phones

Refused to answer my questions or take a message for my representative and told me to email the Premiers office

The Toronto Police

I was told that unless a physical altercation had ensued they were doing nothing to protect the public from being detained on roadways or from being verbally accosted in their vehicles

Rob Fords Office

They were quite understanding and suggested that I send an email to the City and copy their office on my email

City of Toronto

Requested that I email a detailed description of events to them and that my issue would be looked into

Here are some sobering truths about how our leadership is prepared to deal with the violation of the rights of their constituents:

1. The office of the councilor I voted for had no procedure to deal with, assist constituents affected by the behavior of CUPE Local Union Members. In fact they appeared to have no care or concern for what I had been through whatsoever. Their office dismissed my concerns and, in fact, advised me listen to the union to save myself the trouble. No offer was made to record or follow-up on my complaint.

2. The Provincial Member of Parliament that I voted for refused to answer my questions and refused to accept or even record my complaint or opinions and shuffled me off to The Premiers Office.

3. The Toronto Police just sit idly by, allowing these Union employees to harass, accost and detain individuals in their vehicles, without care or concern for the public or The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I am not unreasonable and don’t think that a verbal altercation warrants an arrest, however they should intervene when the Union member is provoking an altercation just as they’ve shown that they will when a member of the public were provoking an altercation under the same circumstances.

4. That the Union Local 79 suggested that since “I was polite” my complaint would be considered. Had I not been “polite”, would that have made that Union employees behavior somehow acceptable?

I tend to wonder if I had been as aggressive with the Union employee as she was with me, would this be the same story I am writing today? Had I responded to her in the same fashion she was addressing me, would that have been construed as my disturbing the peace? Would the Police have continued to remain disconnected mere feet from the incident? If I had waited until the end of the strike day and blocked the union employee’s vehicle the way she was blocking mine, would that behavior have been permitted?

It seems so painfully clear to me that in this grand hypocrisy the only people above the law appear to be Union members.

My message to the Province is not that these people should necessarily be legislated back to work, however I continue seeking legislation that mandates civilized conduct of workers during a strike and that they not be permitted to approach people in their vehicles and make arbitrary demands.

I am a business owner and work very hard to afford to be able to live and work in this City. If a client terminates, or chooses to amend the terms of a contract, should I begin to terrorize every human being that attempts to enter their facility? What would this City look like if every worker behaved the way these Union members do?

While people throughout the world are protesting equal rights and mass genocide, I found myself in this situation because of a labor dispute over sick days. I was downtown during the Tamil protests, past the transit stations during transportation strikes and never, ever have I have encountered a thug such as the one I did yesterday at 2700 Eglinton Ave W.

Perhaps the City should fund a membership or association granting the public the ability to organize, advertize, assemble and protest this kind of atrocious, militant behavior.

Union members – and the lack of leadership and response by my municipal councilor, MPP and Toronto Police - are making it easy for the public to despise and resent them and everything they stand for rather than earning public support and respect.

I urge the City of Toronto to stand their ground and not to bow down to the brute tactics of these CUPE Union members. I also urge the public to stand up for their right to sit in their car peacefully, with their windows up if they choose, without fear of reprisal, unlawful detention or intimidation tactics.

I just read an article about Ed O'Bannon who's suing the NCAA over its use of former student athletes' images in DVDs, video games, photographs, apparel and other material. Every time I hear the name Ed O'Bannon, I remember the lesson he taught us Raptor fans in the mid-90s.

The Toronto Raptors were an expansion team back in 1995 and we had the seventh pick in the NBA Draft Lottery that summer. The draft was held at SkyDome, so plenty of Raptor fans were in attendance. The Vancouver Grizzlies picked Bryant "Big Country" Reeves at #6 and there was no doubt who the fans wanted us to draft at #7.

Ed O'Bannon had a monster 1995 in the NCAA for UCLA. He was the key to UCLA's 1995 NCAA Basketball Championship, winning the John R. Wooden Award as well as the Oscar Robertson Trophy that year. We knew Ed O'Bannon, he was a household name, and we wanted him to be our first ever draft pick.

Isiah Thomas selected Damon Stoudamire, a point guard out of the University of Arizona, and the fans at SkyDome booed. I watched it live and I remember the boos. O'Bannon went to the Nets at #9.

I started driving my current automobile in June 1999. It's the only new car I've ever bought so all 212,000 kms are mine.

I know people who upgrade their car every 2-4 years like clockwork. I'm simply not wired that way. I find a car I like, a reliable but economic car that will get me from A to B, and I treat it well and plan to drive it until it expires. My 10 year old '99 car doesn't have an autolocking feature or automatic windows, but I don't plan to replace it any time soon. Yes, you're reading that right. I have the old hand crank windows and I'm proud of it.

Now that I have a semblance of closure with regards to Martin Streek's suicide, I want to briefly revisit one of the details surrounding his death that has irrecoverably changed social media in my eyes.

Just before taking his own life, Martin left a suicide note for family, friends and fans in the form of a Facebook status message. Here's what he wrote.

So...I guess that's it...thanks everyone...I'm sorry to those I should be sorry to, I love you to those that I love, and I will see you all again soon (not too soon though)... Let the stories begin.

That final act gives Facebook status messages and Twitter tweets a great deal more weight. Here's a recent tweet from @jkozuch.

@madfatter was quick to point out how such words could now be misconstrued.

On Sunday, he went the distance in a 3-1 win over the Boston Red Sox. In giving up six early hits, Halladay worked so efficiently he needed only 105 pitches to complete nine innings. He faced 33 batters but delivered just 27 balls, finding trouble only in the first when Dustin Pedroia reached first with a single that dribbled off Halladay's leg, then scored on a Kevin Youkilis double.

He's now 11-3 with a 2.73 ERA this season. He's also the greatest of all time.

YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.

One of my brothers used to tell me they knew the girl who appeared in the "Happiness is Marineland" ads that air every summer. The story was that her father composed the song. I don't know if any of this was true, but I do know they've been airing that same ad and song for what seems like a hundred years.

It turns out Marineland had a theme song before that one. Here's the original Marineland theme from 1983. It's not quite as zippy.

40 years ago today, we put a man on the moon. I missed the whole thing, having not been born yet and all. I'll bet it was quite the event. Had I been born, I'd likely have live-blogged it and tweeted the hell out of it.

It's pretty cool we put a man on the moon with 1969 technology. We should do something else for the first time, just to prove we've still got it.

In honour of this 40th anniversary, here are some moon songs culled from my MP3 collection. If you've got a moon song I've missed, drop it in the comments.

I just listened to the 3-hour tribute to Martin Streek aired on CFNY / Edge 102. Actually, I missed the first 10 minutes, because I wasn't planning to tune in, but then curiosity got the better of me.

Tomorrow night marks two weeks since Martin Streek took his own life. Yesterday marked two months since I wrote about his firing. Corus' firing of Streek ticked me off, Streek's suicide has followed me around like a black cloud for the past 13 days. The purpose of this entry is to throw down some thoughts on tonight's Corus tribute, accept a few realities and find some closure.

The Hypocrisy
I had trouble getting passed the hypocrisy. The following sentiments were expressed over and over again:

Martin Streek was my favourite DJ.

Martin Streek was passionate about music.

Martin Streek was an ideal colleague.

Martin Streek was the consummate host.

I love Martin Streek.

I'll miss Martin Streek.

There is no other Martin Streek.

Martin was one of my heroes.

Martin Streek was one of the best radio hosts.

I'm sure all of the above is true. CFNY / Edge 102 certainly celebrated Streek, but there was no reference that I heard to the fact they dismissed him in May. This is where the rock meets the hard place. Corus fired Streek, and Corus knows 99% of the listeners tonight are oblivious to this fact. Anyone reading this right now is in the 1% minority. If Martin was so exceptional, with musical passion and a way of connecting with listeners like no other rock DJ in this city, why fire him?

Streek's firing received not a word of exposure on the air. He was deleted from the corporate website and never again referred to on the air until he was found dead in his apartment. Tonight, it was a Streek love-in, with creepiness that only sets in when you've been mourning his absence for two months.

The Music
The music tonight was fantastic. A great collection of excellent tunes without commercial interruption. I was pleased with the playlist.

The Separation of Management and Colleagues
Potential hypocrisy aside, those who worked with Martin loved him, and those who worked with him aren't necessarily supportive of his dismissal in May. A chance to honour Streek at CFNY, the call letters Streek had tattooed on his body, was likely important to many at that station. If we separate those in management who discounted Streek's connection to us fans and deemed him expendable from those who sincerely liked him and miss him, tonight's tribute becomes far more palatable.

We also got to hear from some old friends, like Freddie P., Kneale Mann, Brother Bill and Maie Pauts. That was pretty cool.

The Thoughts of Others
I try not to live in a silo. Sometimes, I miss the mark. Via Twitter and this blog, I was able to get thoughts from some of you listening to the tribute, and I was able to read these thoughts in real-time.

Here's what some of you thought of tonight's tribute. In the comments, I'd love to hear from the rest of you.

If they missed him so much why did they fire him? I think its too little too late. - Buffalo Boy

Fired or not, I think it's a good move for the Edge to provide a tribute. There are years of history there. - @chadtweets

Last night at The Phoenix was a tad creepy and by far the best 102.1 live-to-air music played in a while. We have to remember that there are a lot of friends of Martin still at 102.1. They didn't fire him, management did. - @CraigMarketer

Choosing to think the tribute is coming from staff, rather than the machine. And the song choices so far seem to support that. - @CarrieGee

Cynic in me thinks they felt like they had to do something or they'd look bad. But there's genuine desire to pay tribute too. - @snosk

It's taken them THIS long to come up with a tribute? Waiting this long is just as bad as not having one at all. - @mike_cluett

I was disgusted to hear that CFNY was doing this tribute today. Firstly
because, yes, indeed - they did fire the man 2 months ago and secondly
because it took them 2 effing weeks to put it together. If the tribute
was truly genuine it would have happened last Tuesday.
As for Marsden's tribute - that was awesome - listened to and loved
every minute. - Sarah

The other issue I am having with CFNY is that they are still running
Martin's promo spots. Not cool CFNY - not cool. It seems to me like
they are now trying to capitalize off of his death, given that they did
not even acknowledge back in May that he was 'leaving' the station and
did no tribute to his work at that time. This late in the game, a
tribute seems like a ploy to cover up that they had fired him or a
gimmick to get back in the public's good graces for having canned
Streek in the first place given the recent negative backlash online for
their poor handling of the situation. - Sarah

I was listening to it driving from the city... a few of the people are a little too bubbly if you ask me. - @Noeleen1

I'm listening now.....the music is good and they are saying some nice
things, but they are making sound like he never left. They talk about
how important he was to the Edge and music. What a bunch of
hypocritical crap! - Hector

There's a great article in the Star this weekend about Billy from 99.9
only taking 6 weeks for mat leave because she didn't want to be away
from her 'audience' for too long. It's a good article about what radio
people mean to their listener's. I'm not so sure radio today is like
it was a while ago - with that connection, but, as someone who knew
Martin for a long time (I'm an old employee) he had a rabid and loyal
following and the tribute Marsden played two weeks ago was outstanding.
I can't bear to listen to what's on right now. - Andrew

Marsden's tribute was like a raw wake, while the Edge one is a "memorial" with more time to consider. The family is the family. - @valerieinto

I keep having dreams about Martin Streek - BNL did a lot of remotes, etc with him in the early days. So fucking sad. - @stevenpage

The Shitty Facts
Radio is a business. Corus is a corporation seeking to maximize returns. A friend of mine in the biz once told me, "it's a business run by douche bags who never did the thing that the talent they control do, and that's relate to the audience".

Program directors fire people all the time. If you like the personality getting the boot, you hate this. When you dislike the personality getting the boot, you like this. I liked Martin Streek, so his firing understandably pissed me off.

Martin Streek felt he had no other option than to take his own life. It's easy for us to scream at the top of our lungs that he had so many other options, but that's irrelevant. His state of mind had him convinced he'd be better off dead. At the end of the day, this is the shittiest fact of all.

Moving On
To Martin's mother, his girlfriend and those who loved him in the "real world", my sincere condolences. If I've been feeling this weight for two weeks, I can only imagine what you've been feeling. Just know that he made an impact and won't soon be forgotten.

Edge 102.1 / CFNY won't be airing The Strombo Show for the second Sunday in a row. They're giving up that timeslot today to air a tribute to Martin Streek. Personally, I'm uncomfortable with that station airing a three hour tribute to Martin Streek because I can't get passed the fact they fired the man with the old station logo literally tattooed on his ass in May.

The tribute to Streek I can get behind, and have been promoting like crazy the past couple of days, is the five hour one David Marsden did on The Rock. I implore all CFNY fans from the 80s and 90s, and all those mourning the loss of Martin, to download all five hours now at http://www.torontomike.com/2009/07/martin_streek_tribute_with_dav.html. It's fantastic radio.

Firstly, I want Chuck to take note of how I'm now calling this a Toronto civic workers strike, not a garbage strike. It's not just our garbage men and women who are on strike, it's a whole bunch of other city folk as well. Happy now, Chuck?

Having said that, it's the lack of garbage pick-up that has me losing my patience. This afternoon I'm off to a BBQ to celebrate my brother's birthday. Do you know what I'm bringing him? I'm bringing him a garbage bag of organic waste that's been rotting away in my mud room. He, unlike me, lives in Etobicoke where they're lucky enough to have contracted out their garbage pick-up. They haven't missed a beat. He can find room in his green bin for some of my refuse.

Although I really don't produce much waste, my wife and kids do. For almost a month I've been storing away garbage and recyclables while finding a home for my organic waste in temporary dumps and the homes of friends and family living in Etobicoke or Mississauga. I'm tired of it.

Walter Cronkite was 92. He covered the Cuban missile crisis, the Kennedy assassination, the moon landing, the Vietnam war and Watergate. He was an icon in broadcast journalism "and that's the way it is".

I'm always on the lookout for a good television series. They're few and far between, and TV in the post-Wire world seems worse than TV in the pre-Wire world.

I've watched the first six episodes of Nurse Jackie and I'm enjoying it. It's nice and dark, just the way I like it. Initially I had trouble getting used to Carmela Soprano as a New York City nurse, but Edie Falco is such a good actress, she wins you over.

I mentioned it's dark. It's not overly dark, but it's got a healthy tinge of cynicism and Nurse Jakie is a nicely flawed heroine.

I'm watching this Showtime series on TMN. If you've got TMN, you can catch up pretty quick.

Mississauga Mike wrote me about this new single from the Arctic Monkeys new album Humbug, due out August 25. "It certainly grew on me and you can smell the Josh Homme (QOTSA) production on it, check it out!"

Last time, it was clear CFNY was playing a lot more older stuff. When I removed the repeats, almost exactly two-thirds of the music played was older than five years and of the "classic alternative" genre.

Here are the songs played between midnight and noon today with their assigned labels. After the chart, I'll hit you up with some stats.

11:56 AM

"ULYSSES" - FRANZ FERDINAND

NEW (R)

11:53 AM

"SEX ON FIRE" - KINGS OF LEON

NEW (R)

11:44 AM

"YOUNG CARDINALS" - ALEXISONFIRE

NEW

11:41 AM

"NEVER TOO LATE" - THREE DAYS GRACE

RECENT

11:36 AM

"SAVIOR" - RISE AGAINST

NEW

11:30 AM

"DUMB" - NIRVANA

CLASSIC ALT

11:27 AM

"GIMME SYMPATHY" - METRIC

NEW (R)

11:24 AM

"ALL EMPIRES FALL" - WAKING EYES

NEW (R)

11:21 AM

"SABOTAGE" - BEASTIE BOYS

CLASSIC ALT

11:13 AM

"BODY OF YEARS" - MOTHER MOTHER

NEW (R)

11:11 AM

"SONG 2" - BLUR

CLASSIC ALT

11:07 AM

"FIXED TO RUIN" - SAM ROBERTS

NEW

11:03 AM

"PANIC SWITCH" - SILVERSUN PICKUPS

NEW (R)

11:00 AM

"SHE'S A GENIUS" - JET

NEW

10:50 AM

"CALIFORNICATION" - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

CLASSIC ALT

10:47 AM

"SO SHE'S LEAVING" - TREWS

RECENT (R)

10:43 AM

"I WILL POSSESS YOUR HEART" - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

RECENT (R)

10:36 AM

"WHEN I COME AROUND" - GREEN DAY

CLASSIC ALT

10:31 AM

"21 GUNS" - GREEN DAY

NEW (R)

10:27 AM

"ALIVE AGAIN" - CHAMPION

NEW (R)

10:24 AM

"THE ROCK SHOW" - BLINK-182

CLASSIC ALT

10:16 AM

"SLEEPING SICKNESS" - CITY AND COLOUR

RECENT

10:13 AM

"BELIEVE" - BRAVERY

RECENT

10:08 AM

"RUSTED FROM THE RAIN" - BILLY TALENT

NEW (R)

9:03 AM

"RE-EDUCATION (THROUGH LABOR)" - RISE AGAINST

RECENT

8:52 AM

"LITHIUM" - NIRVANA

CLASSIC ALT

8:39 AM

"NUMB/ENCORE" - JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK

RECENT

8:20 AM

"21 GUNS" - GREEN DAY

NEW (R)

8:07 AM

"KIDS" - MGMT

NEW

7:53 AM

"YELLOW" - COLDPLAY

CLASSIC ALT

7:14 AM

"NEW DIVIDE" - LINKIN PARK

NEW (R)

6:56 AM

"THAT'S THAT S***" - SNOOP DOGG FEAT. R. KELLY

RECENT

6:46 AM

"I WILL POSSESS YOUR HEART" - DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE

RECENT

6:19 AM

"ULYSSES" - FRANZ FERDINAND

NEW

6:07 AM

"FALLEN LEAVES" - BILLY TALENT

RECENT

6:02 AM

"PANIC SWITCH" - SILVERSUN PICKUPS

NEW (R)

5:58 AM

"TIME TO PRETEND" - MGMT

RECENT (R)

5:44 AM

"TODAY" - SMASHING PUMPKINS

CLASSIC ALT

5:39 AM

"21 GUNS" - GREEN DAY

NEW (R)

5:27 AM

"LOVE IS A FIRST" - THE TRAGICALLY HIP

NEW

5:23 AM

"DISARM" - SMASHING PUMPKINS

CLASSIC ALT

5:17 AM

"AIN'T NO REST FOR THE WICKED" - CAGE THE ELEPHANT

NEW

5:14 AM

"THE MIDDLE" - JIMMY EAT WORLD

CLASSIC ALT

5:07 AM

"RUSTED FROM THE RAIN" - BILLY TALENT

NEW (R)

5:05 AM

"THIS RESPIRATOR" - FLATLINERS

RECENT

5:01 AM

"SOMEBODY TOLD ME" - KILLERS

RECENT (R)

4:57 AM

"SOMETIME AROUND MIDNIGHT" - AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT

NEW

4:51 AM

"ALIVE" - PEARL JAM

CLASSIC ALT

4:48 AM

"USE SOMEBODY" - KINGS OF LEON

NEW

4:39 AM

"NEIGHBORHOOD #3 (POWER OUT)" - ARCADE FIRE

RECENT

4:36 AM

"NO YOU GIRLS" - FRANZ FERDINAND

NEW

4:33 AM

"THE KIDS AREN'T ALRIGHT" - OFFSPRING

CLASSIC ALT

4:28 AM

"HIGH AND DRY" - RADIOHEAD

CLASSIC ALT

4:24 AM

"NEW DIVIDE" - LINKIN PARK

NEW (R)

4:20 AM

"ALL YOU DID WAS SAVE MY LIFE" - OUR LADY PEACE

NEW (R)

4:16 AM

"VIVA LA VIDA" - COLDPLAY

RECENT

4:11 AM

"OH, THE BOSS IS COMING!" - ARKELLS

NEW

4:08 AM

"TIME OF YOUR LIFE (GOOD RIDDANCE)" - GREEN DAY

CLASSIC ALT

4:04 AM

"HURT" - NINE INCH NAILS

CLASSIC ALT

4:01 AM

"GIMME SYMPATHY" - METRIC

NEW (R)

3:58 AM

"PORK AND BEANS" - WEEZER

RECENT

3:55 AM

"INTERSTATE LOVE SONG" - STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

CLASSIC ALT

3:52 AM

"THE GOOD LEFT UNDONE" - RISE AGAINST

NEW

3:44 AM

"(I HATE) EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU" - THREE DAYS GRACE

CLASSIC ALT

3:40 AM

"SEX ON FIRE" - KINGS OF LEON

NEW

3:35 AM

"EVEN FLOW" - PEARL JAM

CLASSIC ALT

3:27 AM

"TIMES LIKE THESE" - FOO FIGHTERS

CLASSIC ALT

3:23 AM

"PANIC SWITCH" - SILVERSUN PICKUPS

NEW (R)

3:20 AM

"ALL EMPIRES FALL" - WAKING EYES

NEW

3:16 AM

"1979" - SMASHING PUMPKINS

CLASSIC ALT

3:11 AM

"ALIVE AGAIN" - CHAMPION

NEW

3:07 AM

"GUERRILLA RADIO" - RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

CLASSIC ALT

3:04 AM

"BODY OF YEARS" - MOTHER MOTHER

NEW

2:59 AM

"21 GUNS" - GREEN DAY

NEW (R)

2:55 AM

"BARTENDER" - (HED)P.E.

CLASSIC ALT

2:52 AM

"GALVANIZE" - CHEMICAL BROTHERS

RECENT

2:47 AM

"DOWN WITH THE SICKNESS" - DISTURBED

CLASSIC ALT

2:38 AM

"PLUSH" - STONE TEMPLE PILOTS

CLASSIC ALT

2:34 AM

"PUSH IT" - GARBAGE

CLASSIC ALT

2:31 AM

"BREED" - NIRVANA

CLASSIC ALT

2:24 AM

"RUSTED FROM THE RAIN" - BILLY TALENT

NEW (R)

2:21 AM

"TWISTED TRANSISTOR" - KORN

RECENT

2:18 AM

"IN TOO DEEP" - SUM 41

CLASSIC ALT

2:13 AM

"ENTER SANDMAN" - METALLICA

CLASSIC ALT

2:08 AM

"RUBY SOHO" - RANCID

CLASSIC ALT

2:04 AM

"I GOT A GIRL" - TRIPPING DAISY

CLASSIC ALT

2:00 AM

"NEW DIVIDE" - LINKIN PARK

NEW

1:56 AM

"SOMEBODY TOLD ME" - KILLERS

RECENT

1:50 AM

"A LOOKING IN VIEW" - ALICE IN CHAINS

NEW

1:43 AM

"MY MUSIC @ WORK" - THE TRAGICALLY HIP

CLASSIC ALT

1:39 AM

"TIME TO PRETEND" - MGMT

RECENT

1:35 AM

"JUMP AROUND" - HOUSE OF PAIN

CLASSIC ALT

1:30 AM

"THE SCIENTIST" - COLDPLAY

CLASSIC ALT

1:27 AM

"GIMME SYMPATHY" - METRIC

NEW

1:24 AM

"YOUR ENGLISH IS GOOD" - TOKYO POLICE CLUB

NEW

1:21 AM

"FIRST DATE" - BLINK-182

CLASSIC ALT

1:13 AM

"ALL YOU DID WAS SAVE MY LIFE" - OUR LADY PEACE

NEW

1:09 AM

"SAY IT AIN'T SO" - WEEZER

CLASSIC ALT

1:05 AM

"NO ONE KNOWS" - QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE

CLASSIC ALT

1:00 AM

"PANIC SWITCH" - SILVERSUN PICKUPS

NEW

12:53 AM

"CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA" - OASIS

CLASSIC ALT

12:49 AM

"LET IT DIE" - FOO FIGHTERS

RECENT

12:41 AM

"ARIEL VS. LOTUS" - LIMBLIFTER

CLASSIC ALT

12:38 AM

"FEEL GOOD DRAG" - ANBERLIN

NEW

12:34 AM

"PAPER PLANES" - M.I.A.

RECENT

12:29 AM

"JEREMY" - PEARL JAM

CLASSIC ALT

12:24 AM

"21 GUNS" - GREEN DAY

NEW

12:20 AM

"BALLAD OF HUGO CHAVEZ" - ARKELLS

NEW

12:16 AM

"LOSE YOURSELF" - EMINEM

CLASSIC ALT

12:10 AM

"LOVE ROLLERCOASTER" - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

CLASSIC ALT

12:07 AM

"SCAR TISSUE" - RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

CLASSIC ALT

12:03 AM

"RUSTED FROM THE RAIN" - BILLY TALENT

NEW

Here's what we learn from this random spot check of Edge 102's playlist.

# of songs played: 112

# of different songs played: 88 / 78.5%

# of "new" songs: 50 / 44.6%

# of unique "new" songs: 30 / 26.7%

# of "recent" songs: 22 / 19.6%

# of unique "recent" songs: 19 / 16.9%

# of "classic alternative" songs: 43 / 38.4%

102.1 the Edge is playing about the same percentage of unique songs, with slightly more "new" songs and "recent" songs than classic alternative songs. In January, I found that over 51% of songs played were older than five years, and when we looked at the number of unique classic alternative songs played, it was a whopping 65.38%. Today, that total was only 48.3%.

Again, if we remove the repeats, almost half of the music played today was older than five years and of the "classic alternative" genre. There's lots of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alice in Chains and the songs you know and love, mainly from the 1990s. Back in January, almost two-thirds of the de-duped music played was "classic alternative".

Update: My main objective was to see if CFNY was increasing the number of Classic Alternative songs they play. They're not.

24 of the songs listed above had already been played previously in the day. Remember, my sample ends before noon. This explains the reputation this station now has in my circle for repetition. Green Day's "21 Guns" was played five times. In my opinion, there's no need for 24 reruns over a 12-hour period.

I implore you to watch this interview with David Simon, screenwriter of The Greatest Show On Television, Ever™. Seriously, if you haven't seen The Wire yet, what the hell are you waiting for? Watch this interview with Bill Moyers Journal then get the five seasons of The Wire on DVD, watch them and then talk to me about it. Do it!

Here's a scene seen at the beginning of the interview and a taste of what you've been missing.

DETECTIVE JIMMY MCNULTY: Let me understand you, every Friday night you and your boys will shoot crap right? And every Friday night your pal Snot Boogie he'd wait 'till there was cash on the ground and then he'd grab the money and run away? You let him do that?

What I don't know, and I've tried to find out but failed, is whether The Strombo Show aired this past Sunday was live. I can't say whether it was a rerun or a new episode. It's quite possible George Stroumboulopoulos is on vacation, or simply taking a break after losing a good friend.

I received the email below from someone with similar questions. This person has permitted me to post the email, so long as I keep him or her anonymous.

Hi, Mike,

Thanks for the sincere blogs over the last week. It's been helpful to visit an authentic forum.

I know from your post Sun. night that you didn't catch the strombo show, but have you heard anything about it since? I'm Brantford way and listened on fm96, where it aired at 5pm as usual.

Although I missed the beginning of the show, it seemed to me that George gave tribute via the playlist. There were some obscure tracks, some party tunes, some rebellion as usual. Not a lot of chitchat. The lyrics of the last set were striking to me and included a deathcab song (soul meets body), ac newman (prophets [which I heard at the time as "profits", given the current climate]), bedouin (walls fall down), and stones gimme shelter ended the show. He made a point of telling us to listen to the backup singer singing of rape and murder, and rather than playing through the whole song, ended the show directly after the backup singer blew out her voice singing "Murder" with such passion. That was the last word. Cut to commercial.

The statement seemed subtle and strong; he didn't give enough rope to hang himself with but if you knew what to listen for, the message was loud and clear.

So I wondered if I was reading too much into that (and was that even Strombo DJing? and was it a repeat show?) and waited for some kind of discussion online. Have you heard anymore about it? Do you have an opinion? I'd be interested in your thoughts.

Thanks,
**name removed**

PS - While I'm seeking opinions: this memorial at the Pheonix on Saturday - will Corus profit from that? Isn't it still a live-to-air cfny DJ'ed event? I'd love to go but have no intention of feeding the beast.

Very interesting... unless Sunday's show was a rerun. Or are me and **name removed** reading entirely too much into the fact CFNY didn't air the first Strombo Show after Martin Streek's death?

The Blackhawks have talked to Toronto about Patrick Sharp, among other clubs, according to a team source.

Where those discussions go now is unclear, but what is clear is that players like Sharp ($4 million), Dustin Byfuglien ($3 million), Kris Versteeg ($3 million) and Cam Barker ($3 million) are available because a movable contract today may not be movable a year from now if the player doesn't perform next season.

And contracts will have to be moved before 2010-11, the result of the Hawks' bungled salary-cap situation that threatens the future of their young core.

As I wrote a short time ago, the Leafs have an abundance of defensemen and are lacking scoring. According to an article in the Toronto Star on Thursday, Leafs general manager Brian Burke also wants to bolster Toronto's penalty-killing unit.

According to thestar.com, Burke mentioned he received a trade proposal for one of his defensemen Wednesday. He remarked the trade would require the Leafs to take on some salary, but they would receive a forward in return. He is also looking at free-agent possibilities.

"I want to make sure if we're down to our last three to five million dollars we want to spend the money wisely," Burke said.

The Blackhawks have a talented forward who will earn $3.9 million next year. Patrick Sharp's 26 goals would have led the Maple Leaf scorers for 2008-09. He would be an attractive option for Mr. Burke.

The Leafs desperately need young scorers up front. Sharp would be a welcome additon. Make it so, Mr. Burke.

Obama threw out the first pitch at the All-Star Game last night, and Fox gave him presidential treatment. Watch him deliver the pitch below and tell me how he did. It's impossible to tell whether he threw a strike, a wild pitch or bounced one in.

This camera angle is so ridiculous I almost want to suggest that Obama hedged his bets in case he blew his pitch, and asked Fox not to show the results of his pitch live. I almost want to suggest that, but this is Obama we're talking about. I have no doubt he threw a 98 mph strike.

For the past few months, I've been sharing an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. For seven days I host an MP3 for visitors to grab and enjoy and then I host another and another and so on... Judging from the statistics, very few people are taking advantage of this service. As a result, I'm killing the Weekly MP3.

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

My left eye has been hurting all day. It feels like there's something in it, stabbing my eyeball every time I blink. After dinner tonight, I had had enough. I was going to St. Joseph's Health Centre to find out what the heck was in my eye.

I figured I'd have to wait a few hours while more serious ailments jumped ahead of me in emergency. You can't get a Blackberry signal inside St. Joe's, so I decided to write myself a note. Here's what I wrote while I waited to see a doctor.

I have a long relationship with St. Joes. I was born there, my first born spent 10 days there in the NICU ward and another 5 with pneumonia, and I've had several broken bones and one seperated shoulder treated there. Its my go-to hospital, and luckily I haven't needed it more often.

It seems I always need emerge at night. I'm almost never here during working hours. At night, the colourful people collect in the halls of St. Joe's and I watch them as if watching a glorious symphony.

There's always a handful of drunks sleeping one off, and the later at night you're here, the more of these folks you'll see. St. Joe's is located in Parkdale, a magnet of sorts for the colourful people. I prefer to think of it as a neighbourhood with character.

The wait to see a doc can be lengthy, but the staff are always caring and professional with just the right sense of humour. They know their stuff, and they do everything possible to make your wait as short as possible.

I'm settled in now, it's been 30 minutes and I'm ready to wait a few more hours, but I don't mind. My left eye is killing me, and I know a good diagnosis and proper treatment is imminent.

Less than 5 minutes after writing that last sentence, a doctor had put orange dye in my eye and was examining me for lacerations. He found several, assured me there was no permanent damage, prescribed ointment and pain killers and encouraged me to return on Thursday for a follow-up examination.

35 minutes.... the shortest emergency room visit of my life. It's like ordering a pizza.

I'm submitting a song for SLS22 consideration. I'm submitting "Treat Me Like Your Mother" by The Dead Weather.

The Dead Weather is a supergroup. It's comprised of vocalist Alison Mosshart (of The Kills), drummer and vocalist Jack White (of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs), guitarist Dean Fertita (of Queens of the Stone Age) and bassist Jack Lawrence (of The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes).

Check out this single before Warner Music Group pulls the vid. Heaven forbid we promote a band's video!

Last night, after our ball game, the Mikes and I got talking about the Phoenix. The Phoenix, for you out-of-towners, is a club at 410 Sherbourne Street that I used to frequent in the mid-90s. I was there for the moshing anthems but you never knew who you'd bump into.

We were talking about the Phoenix Concert Theatre because we were talking about Club 102, a live-to-air event heard on 102.1 every Saturday night for as long as I can remember. Club 102 was hosted by Chris Sheppard, and when Shep left, Martin Streek took over.

Club 102 was fun, because it was great tune after great tune. Streek was the perfect host, full of energy and passion with a fantastic voice. There's a Facebook group in memory of Streek, and that's where I found an hour and two minutes of Club 102 recorded live from the Phoenix and hosted by Martin Streek. It was shared by Trevor Castle.

Halladay isn't just the best pitcher in the game, he's a throwback to a time when starters demanded the ball in the ninth inning. He never complains, he just goes about his business. When he's on the mound, you know there's a chance for a 2 hour game. He's efficient, he's effective and he's ours.

At least he's ours for now. J.P. Ricciardi said he's listening to offers for Halladay, and the thought of trading Halladay turns my stomach. He's a once in a generation pitcher and we've got him. J.P. Ricciardi ought to be doing everything possible to lock him up, not trade him away. If Halladay goes...

Speaking of Halladay, something we should do more often, he'll be starting his first All-Star game this week. He's only the third Jay to have that honour bestowed upon him, joining Dave Stieb and David Wells. It's about time.

I can't help but feel as if I'm missing the point of Mixed Martial Arts. I love sports in general, I loved the WWF as a youngster in the 80s and I still enjoy a good boxing match. Still, I don't get the phenomenon known as UFC. I can't seem to get into Mixed Martial Arts, even with all the recent hype surrounding it.

The recent hype was around UFC 100. A number of people I follow on Twitter were super excited about this event. Canadians get particularly excited about Georges St. Pierre, a Quebec native and UFC Welterweight Champion. GSP, as he's better known, is even sponsored by Gatorade. When Gatorade is knocking on your door, you're mainstream.

But still, with all this hype and so many singing the praises of UFC, I'm left with no interest. I watched a few GSP matches online and still didn't care. Was boxing not brutal enough? Were we in need of a WWF-like sport without a script?

I understand the MMA fan base is a passionate bunch and extremely loyal to the UFC. I expect them to chastise me for missing out. I'm curious what the rest of you think. Have I not given MMA a fair shot or is it simply a fringe sport for the blood thirsty?

I'm plugging myself back in after a long weekend of kayaking, BBQing, chilling with the family and playing beach volleyball under sunny skies. My radio is tuned into Edge 102.1 for The Strombo Show, one of Corus' best radio shows. I've always liked George Stroumboulopoulos.

This is the first airing of The Strombo Show since Martin Streek died. It's no secret Stroumboulopoulos and Streek were tight. I saw them together as recently as last year's CASBY Awards and Strombo was swooning in the presence of Streek, a man he clearly admired. Then, there's this quote from Strombo, which has resurfaced since Streek's death.

Martin Streek (and David Bookman) are so important to this city, what they do for music ... Streek when he’s on the radio... quality wins. They believe in music. They are the snipers waiting by the window keeping everyone on their game. Because their music knowledge is impeccable, their passion is unrivalled and they’re not afraid to tell you. They understand how important a record can be to your life.

I've got CFNY on the radio, trying to listen to Strombo to hear what he'd say about Martin, but I'm not hearing The Strombo Show. I'm hearing a guy named Jeff Leake playing the typical music 102.1 plays these days, and there's no mention of George Stroumboulopoulos or The Strombo Show. The "S" word hasn't been uttered once.

Did Strombo quit Corus? Does anyone know where his radio show has gone?

Update: I'm told The Strombo Show was on Corus tonight, just not Edge 102.1. edge.ca is promoting the show as airing from 2pm - 5pm, a change I've obviously missed! It was always 5pm - 8pm.

Apparently there's nothing to see here, move along....

Update 2: When I wondered aloud if The Strombo Show aired here at 2pm, a Strombo fan who would like to remain anonymous replied and said "not today they didn't ... this afternoon Todd had some sort of bikini thing goin' on ... they didn't broadcast in T.O today "

I'm so sick of hearing Auto-Tune on the top 40 charts. It all started with Cher and now it's out of control. Kanye was so much better before he went the Auto-Tune route, wasn't he?

I don't want to hear Auto-Tune in my music, but I love hearing it in my news. Michael Gregory has been Auto-Tuning the news for a few months now and I'm still digging it. Catch the first six songs here.

The Toronto Raptors have confirmed their acquisition of forward Hedo Turkoglu. This is likely the most significant free agent addition in the team's history, and it's no coincidence Turkoglu is a non-American.

Turkoglu's agent Lon Babby said the player and his wife Banu were intrigued by Toronto's ethnic diversity, including a large Turkish community. Turkoglu joins Andrea Bargnani, José Calderón, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Roko Ukić as non-Americans on our roster.

Toronto, a cultural mosaic with a diverse populous, has little trouble attracting players like Turkoglu. It's the Americans who would rather play elsewhere.

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

I listened to CFNY (Edge 102) throughout the 90s. It was my favourite radio station, not just for the tunes but for the personalities. I can't remember a time at 102 before Martin Streek.

Martin Streek, if you're out there, let us know where you're at. You've been a familiar voice over Toronto airwaves for about 20 years and you'll be missed.

I remember writing that "let us know where you're at" line. I originally typed "let us know you're okay". I changed the sentence, thinking to myself that he's just lost his job, he hadn't died.

This city seems far less cool today than it did only a few days ago. Martin was so damn cool. He looked cool, he sounded cool, he promoted cool music and was always doing cool things. I wanted to be Martin Streek.

I'm assured a big public event in honour of Martin is being planned by those who knew him best. This city needs to assemble and do what he'd want us to do: arrive early and stay late. I'm sure we'll play this song. For Martin.

Last night, on the official Google blog, Google announced the Google Chrome Operating System is coming.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Later this year we will open-source its code, and netbooks running Google Chrome OS will be available for consumers in the second half of 2010. Because we're already talking to partners about the project, and we'll soon be working with the open source community, we wanted to share our vision now so everyone understands what we are trying to achieve.

Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS. We're designing the OS to be fast and lightweight, to start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds. The user interface is minimal to stay out of your way, and most of the user experience takes place on the web. And as we did for the Google Chrome browser, we are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don't have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work.

I can't wait to give the Google OS a test drive. We'll see if it will supplant Ubuntu as my Windows alternative of choice.

I've spent a lot of time in the Junction. The Junction, for you out-of-towners, is an area north of Bloor West Village by Dundas Street West and Keele. To be honest, when I was growing up, it was the smelly place thanks to the Stockyards, Canada's largest livestock market and the centre of Ontario's meat packing industry.

It was also a little sketchy. We used to joke that going north of the train tracks that run alongside Dundas Street West was literally and figuratively going to the other side of the tracks. It was a rougher patch of the city, no doubt about it, and the stores were pretty run down and shabby, especially when compared to what was happing in Bloor West Village.

I will be competing in the 15th Annual Heatwave Toronto Beach Volleyball Tournament in support of The James Fund at SickKids. As one of the athletes in this event, I have made a commitment to fight childhood cancer. No child should have to suffer this terrible disease. I'm asking you to help me save children's lives and end childhood cancer by donating today.

The donations from this incredible tournament will support The James Fund at SickKids Foundation. James was 8 years old when he passed away from neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer of the central nervous system. James knew that there was little that could be done for him but was more concerned that no other kids would die of this disease. Before James died, he knew that a Research Fund in his name was established at The Hospital for Sick Children. "I will always be fighting cancer!" said James.

Secure on line donations can be made to The James Fund at SickKids with VISA, MasterCard or American Express and an electronic tax receipt will be sent to you by email. You can make an online donation now at:

I've been blogging here since 2002 with almost 10,000 entries under my belt. During that time, I've broken a few stories, usually local radio hirings and firings. Last night, I broke a story here that still has me dazed.

The comments in my entry about Martin Streek's death, from dozens of people who knew him and loved him, confirm what I always suspected. Martin was a genuine good guy who loved what he did and treated everyone he encountered with class, good humour and respect. So many Torontonians felt a connection with Martin, and the 148 comments (and counting) prove he struck a chord with this city in a personal way few media personalities can equal.

The mainstream media coverage of Martin Streek's death, especially from our local newspapers, was abysmal. Martin deserved so much better for what he gave this city. I'm going to address the coverage from the Toronto Sun, National Post, Toronto Star and Globe & Mail.

Toronto Sun

Get used to this picture of Martin. It was his Facebook profile picture, and the same one I used last night. You'll be seeing a lot of it in this local MSM analysis.

I'm leading with the Sun's coverage because their factual errors really hit home with me. "The news broke on an Internet message board post by David Marden". When I clicked through, I did find a comment by Marsden on someone else's post, but the post was published over an hour after my entry about Streek's death. Clearly, a little Googling is too much fact checking to expect from the Sun.

The remainder of the article could have been written by anyone with a web browser.

National Post 1

There's that picture again. You have to admit, it's a great shot. I don't think Martin would mind one bit if the media failed to find another.

This first entry from the National Post really infuriates me with their ignorance. "One blogger named Marsden (luvradio) posted the following today." Are you kidding me, National Post? Calling Marsden "one blogger" is inexcusable. David Marsden was the driving force behind CFNY in the 1980s and a local radio legend. How does the Post not recognize that?

National Post 2

Again, the National Post's coverage of Martin Streek's suicide could have been thrown together by any teen with wifi. It's his final Facebook status message, a mini-bio, and that picture we all know and love.

The National Post did, however, give me credit as a source alongside the CBC, which is almost enough for me to forgive their inabilty to scratch beneath the surface. A popular local DJ who was on the air for over two decades before his inexplicable firing at the hands of Corus Entertainment kills himself at the age of 45 and we're once again fed lazy jounalism from one of our many dailies.

Toronto Star

I'm most disappointed in the Toronto Star for their coverage of this tragic event. The Toronto Star is my paper, the one I read daily and the one I've been reading daily ever since I discovered Blue Jays box scores and For Better of For Worse comics in the early 80s.

The Toronto Star should be ashamed for this reprint of the Canadian Press release. Couldn't the Star find a reporter to dig around, give us some insight, try and give this appearingly senseless act some context? The Canadian Press coverage is a paint-by-numbers statement that Streek lived, worked at 102.1, was fired and died. For shame.

Globe & Mail

I saved the Globe & Mail's article for last, because it's so offensive I couldn't get past the headline. It was very late in the day when I took this screen cap, and they were still misspelling Martin's name. It reminds me of that old axiom there's no such thing as bad publicity so long as they spell your name right. Poor Martin didn't get that honour.

Toronto is a huge city with a glut of media stationed here and many, many passionate citizens who are deeply feeling this loss. The service we've received from our newspapers is truly disgusting, especially when contrasted with the coverage given to a memorial service held in Los Angeles this afternoon.

I had a good chat with my buddy Elvis this morning, about Martin Streek, suicide and mental health. We were debating whether someone of sound mind and body can consciously decide to end their life without mental illness playing a role. It sounds so rock n' roll, the whole "better to burn out than fade away" thing, but it's such a final, drastic step. It's always darkest before the dawn, and when you lose that perspective, you need help.

[09:53] eLvIs: I was going to ask/tell you about this closer to the day but in light of the Martin Streek news, I thought this could be appropriate. Christy's uncle is currently riding across Canada on his bicycle to raise awareness about Mental Health. Would you be interested in posting about him?
[09:53] eLvIs: He arrives in Toronto for a rally on the 17th.
[09:54] eLvIs: http://therideformentalhealth.blogspot.com/
[09:54] eLvIs: http://www.therideformentalhealth.org/

Elvis' wife's uncle, Mel Thompson, is doing something to help those living with mental illness. His bike ride across Canada hits our fair city on July 17th. Come out and support him and this worthy cause if you can.

Friday, July 17, 2009
Toronto Pep Rally (12pm-2pm)

Come out and support Mel Thompson, Vice President, Customer Services, as he embarks on the final leg of The Ride for Mental Health, Nathan Phillips Square has hosted many remarkable events since its inception. Let’s make this one for the record books.

I'm still stunned that Martin Streek left us this early when there were so many other options available to him. It's a tragic story that really hits me, because I spent hundreds of nights listening to him on the Thursday 30 and his Live to Air broadcasts on CFNY 102.1 / The Edge. Furthermore, the world's collide all over the place with this one. I broke the sad news last night and have many friends who knew Martin personally and are mourning his loss in a far more personal way.

I was scheduled to meet up with Mike Wixson tonight. Mike worked with Martin, and now works with my good friend Humble Howard at RedFishEntertainment, producing his Man Up Canada game show. I was going to meet with Mike about some Man Up Canada web stuff when he cancelled because, as you can imagine, he's shattered.

Mike and I were exchanging emails this morning when he sent me this recent tid bit about Martin Streek that will likely be news to everybody.

We had just finished a pilot for a new show called Martin Streek's Backstage...he was brilliant. It was going to be popular and he would never have had to look back on radio. He was made for TV. I have a demo you need to see. He was headed toward a TV career at 1000 miles an hour.

Here's Martin Streek's demo for Martin Streek's Backstage, a show we'll never get to see developed. In this great clip, he's interviewing USS.

Jonas Gustavsson likes us, he really, really likes us! Sportsnet is reporting that the long awaited decision by Jonas Gustavsson is over as he's decided to start his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

An announcement is expected as early as today as "The Monster" signed off on a 1-year, $900,000 to start the 09-10 season backing up Vesa Toskola.

The Best Goaltender Outside the NHL™ will battle Vesa Toskala for the #1 job, even though MLSE will tell you he's backing up Tosky. Hopefully, he's worth the wait.

Remember when Michael Jackson's ghost haunted Muhammad Ali and George Foreman during their Rumble in the Jungle back in 1974? That was a cool trick, because it was modern day Jacko doing the haunting back in 1974, not 1974 Jacko. It seems he's at it again.

During a Larry King Interview with Jermaine Jackson on CNN, MJ haunts again. See for yourself.

In the comments of this entry we were debating who would be our top six defencemen next season. We have a glut of worthy defenders, including Kaberle, Schenn, Komisarek, Finger, Van Ryn, Exelby, White and Oreskovic. Brian Burke decided that wasn't enough. He's just signed free agent defencemen Francois Beauchemin to a three-year deal believed to be in the range of $10 million.

I really like this signing at that price. Burke previously brought Beauchemin to the Ducks where he helped them win the cup in '07. Beauchemin eats a lot of minutes, plays a solid physical style and makes our team better.

Documentary filmmaker Allan King passed away last month, and TVOntario has been paying tribute by airing his great docs.

Tonight, TVO is airing Warrendale, and I urge all of you with PVRs to record this gem and the rest of you Ontarians to tune in in to TVO at 10pm tonight.

In 1966, filmmaker Allan King visited an experimental treatment centre for emotionally disturbed children in Toronto. Never on television before, this profound documentary reveals the feelings and experiences of children in anguish.

Tomorrow night we're in for another treat at 10pm when TVO airs A Married Couple.

The on-screen conversations, fights, and intimate secrets of a seemingly typical husband and wife living in Toronto in the 1960s made them one of the decade's best-known average couples. By filmmaker Allan King.

When Derek and the Dominos first released "Layla" back in 1971, it was 2:43 and didn't include Jim Gordon's piano coda. Don't get me wrong, Eric Clapton and Duane Allman had a classic rock gem with that version of "Layla", but it really was missing the best part.

Personally, I don't care for the first half of "Layla". I'm all about that second half, the piano coda. That's the piano piece you hear over the credits of Goodfellas. I'd like to rip it out of "Layla" and play it by its lonesome. I never get tired of hearing it.

Which half of "Layla" do you prefer? In my humble opinion, it's no contest.

Did you hear Michael Jackson passed away? CNN is still calling it "breaking news" in their 24/7 coverage of Jackson's death. Coverage that contains almost nothing in terms of new developments, by the way, but I digress.

Jacko's death will reward those of us who still pray at the alter of The Simpsons' glory years when Fox re-airs its 1991 episode “Stark Raving Dad,” in which Jackson voiced a 300-pound mental patient who believed that he was the famous singer. It's a stellar episode, and even though I own the episode on DVD, I'll be tuning to watch the best Sunday night @ 8pm episode in years.

As a teen, I played a lot of tennis. I used to follow tennis pretty closely, rooting for John McEnroe then Boris Becker. I always held out hope Canada could develop a top notch mens singles player. We never did.

Canada's inability to produce a single excellent men's singles tennis player is mind boggling. There have been a few decent female players, and at least a couple of excellent doubles players, but not one male player who could even upset their way into a semi-final match. The highest ranking Canadian male in singles play was Andrew Sznajder who somehow got ranked #46 in September 1989. You're forgiven if you've forgotten about Andrew Sznajder.

We've done okay with doubles, however. Grant Connell reached #1 back in 1995 and Daniel Nestor won Wimbledon earlier today with Nenad Zimonjić. Nestor has had a great career, winning 5 Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal. Still, a decent singles competitor eludes us, although we came close...

I seem to recall a young Montreal-born player with promise. His name was Greg Rusedski, as I recall, but in 1995 he decided he could make more money as a Brit. He actually got to the US Open final in 1997, but he was wearing the wrong flag on his backpack.

Will there ever be an elite male singles tennis player from this country?

Steve "Air" McNair was 36. He quarterbacked the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens to success in the National Football League, winning the NFL MVP award in 2003 and starting Super Bowl XXXIV.

I really liked Air McNair's game. He, of course, was the Titans QB during the Music City Miracle game against the Buffalo Bills that broke my heart and irrevocably turned me off the NFL. I wrote more about that game here.

I've discovered the best way to deal with Toronto garbage strike. I've sent my wife and kids out of town.

It turns out I don't produce garbage on my own. It's true, I've produced only a minuscule amount of recyclables and just a little organic waste. It seems my wife and kids were responsible for 99% of the garbage, recycling and green bin waste we were producing each week.

Who does Jonas Gustavsson think he is? Not only does he get the coolest nickname ever, but he's holding off on making his decision as to which NHL team he'll suit up for next season. All this from an undrafted goalie.

The Best Goaltender Outside the NHL™ will likely choose between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars. He might decide tomorrow, or he might keep us waiting Sundin-style.

I need The Monster here just so I can cheer on someone named The Monster. It's not only fun to say, it's fun to type, too.

Toronto Argonaut slotback Arland Bruce scored the Argos first touchdown of the season on Wednesday, on a 21-yard pass from Kerry Joseph. Then, he paid tribute to Michael Jackson by removing his helmet, shoulder pads and uniform top, then laid down in the end zone.

Here's the controversial celebration:

Remember when guys like Jim Brown, Walter Payton and Barry Sanders refused to celebrate touchdowns? They acted like they've been in the end zone before, and they'd be there again.

But heck, Arland Bruce's MJ tribute was pretty tame compared to his Spider-Man routine last season.

Green Day's "Know Your Enemy" was noticeably absent from the recently unveiled SLS21. I didn't mind it, but I thought it was a little too "American Idiot" and I know these guys can do better. "21 Guns" is a great deal better.

Although I won't see it for a year, I hear this song is prominently featured in the critically lambasted Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

During the summer months, softball or slo-pitch are my participation sports of choice. For years and years I've played in at least two leagues, averaging about three games a week these days. I'd guesstimate I've played over 250 games this decade, but one game six years ago has provided me with the best story.

I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

Damian Cox giveth, taketh away, and returneth the Kubina to Atlanta trade. But it's not the deal we were teased with, Kubina for Colby Armstrong, but instead it's Pavel Kubina and the rights to forward Tim Stapleton for defenceman Garnet Exelby and winger Colin Stuart.

This is clearly a move to make cap space. I'm not a fan of the bodies we're getting back for Kubina, but I understand the money we save will help land another free agent. Burke sure does love hard-nosed toughies who can't score to save their lives. We certainly won't be pushovers with guys like Schenn, Komisarek, Finger and Exelby on the blueline.

Let me close with a word about Tim Stapleton. I attended several Marlies games last season, and Tim Stapleton was consistently a standout. During the most exciting playoff clinching overtime win, it was Stapleton who scored the winner. I got an autographed picture of Stapleton that's pinned to my daughter's bulletin board right now. I'm sorry we won't have #17 to cheer on at Ricoh next season but I'm hopeful he'll get a chance to see more NHL ice in Atlanta.

Hours after dipping his toes in the free agency pool by signing tough guy Colton Orr, Brian Burke has reeled in a bigger fish. No, it wasn't the Mike I wanted, Mike Cammalleri, but 27 year old Mike Komisarek. He signed a 5 year deal with the Leafs for $4.5 million per year.

That's right, $4.5 million a year over five years for a guy whose allergic to points. I understand that's not his game and that we're getting a hard-nosed defensive defenseman who will block shots and hit everybody in sight, but that's a lot of cabbage. Still, my Montreal-liking frenemies tell me I'll soon fall in love with the man they call Komi.

Orr and Komi promise to make us tougher, but will they combine to put up Brad Marsh-like offensive stats? We can only hope...

Karl Malden was 97. He starred in the 1970s TV series "The Streets of San Francisco", won an Oscar playing his Broadway-originated role as Mitch in "A Streetcar Named Desire," and made famous the American Express catchphrase "Don't leave home without it."

Toronto Star sports writer Damien Cox writes a blog he calls The Spin on Sports and I subscribe to the RSS feed. Earlier this afternoon, here's the update I got in my Google Reader.

I also follow Damien Cox on Twitter, where he's @DamoSpin. Here's his tweet shortly thereafter.

The deal Damien Cox was reporting was Pavel Kubina going to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colby Armstrong. It's a deal I dig, but if you go to Cox's Spin blog now, there's no sign of that entry. It's been deleted.

The deal could still happen, but it hasn't happened yet. It's been one big Cox tease and quite premature.

Today is a big day for hockey fans. As of midnight, teams can sign free agents. I had my eye on a few, namely Cammalleri, Gaborik and Ohlund. Ohlund's already gone to the Lightning, so he's off the table, but I'm still hopeful Brian Burke can make a little noise and improve my team.

So far, he's signed one free agent, and that's Colton Orr. Burke has said he wants to make the Leafs tougher, and Colton Orr will do that. Colton Orr is an enforcer, and he comes cheap. He's signed to the blue and white for $4 million over four seasons.

Here's what he's known for:

With Colton Orr in the fold we can finally start planning that parade.